LG takes controlling stake in Alphonso
January 7, 2021
LG Electronics (LG) and Alphonso have announced a significant investment by LG in Alphonso to bring together the two TV companies’ technologies and innovations to LG’s smart TV line-up. With this investment of nearly $80 million (€65.1m), LG will become Alphonso’s largest investor with a controlling stake of over 50 per cent.
LG says it has made understanding customer tastes and consumer trends one of its highest priorities as part of its digital transformation strategy to deliver better customized services. LG plans to utilise Alphonso software and services – including Alphonso’s data analytics, media planning and activation, and Video AI capabilities – with its range of home entertainment products. Alphonso’s combined offerings aims to enrich consumer services including content recommendations and LG’s own streaming service, LG Channels, to create a robust owned and operated first-screen, cross-device advertising platform with integrated analytics platform for LG TVs and the smart TV marketplace as a whole.
This is Alphonso’s first investment round since its Series A financing of $5.6 million in 2017, led by Manifest Investment Partners. Alphonso will continue to operate as an independent business under its current brand and leadership based in Silicon Valley.
“Our investment in Alphonso is a key component of our digital transformation strategy focusing on AI, big data and cloud to fundamentally change how consumers interact with their devices,” said Park Hyoung-sei, president of the LG Home Entertainment Company. “With Alphonso’s TV data analysis capabilities, LG will be able to better fulfil consumers’ needs by providing even more customised services and content to consumers. We are proud to welcome Alphonso to the LG family.”
“LG and Alphonso have a shared vision for advancing the smart TV ecosystem through innovative software and services oriented toward modern new consumer experiences on one end, and highly flexible, lucrative advertising, planning, and measurement offerings for brands, agencies, and broadcasters on the other,” added Ashish Chordia, founder and CEO of Alphonso. “Becoming part of LG Electronics gives Alphonso the backing of one of the world’s leaders in home entertainment products, with access to a massive global inventory of connected TV screens. We can now maximise our mutual impact on the TV marketplace as we bring our products together and deliver immense value for the ecosystem.”